Plan Your Visit

Plan Your Visit to Carrigan Farms

There’s no place quite like this within a hundred miles of Charlotte. Carrigan Farms is a 5th generation family farm on over 300 acres in Mooresville, North Carolina — and we’ve been farming this piece of dirt since 1902. But we’re a lot more than a farm. We’re a natural granite quarry you can swim in, an orchard where kids pick fruit right off the tree, a pumpkin patch you ride a tractor to, a haunted trail that’ll have you screaming, and one of the most stunning outdoor event venues in the Southeast.

Whether you’re looking for things to do near Charlotte with the family, planning a weekend day trip from the Triad, or just trying to figure out what to expect when you get here — this is your starting point.

Swim in a Natural Granite Quarry

In the late 1960s, workers quarrying granite for Interstate 77 hit a natural underground spring. The water welled up and never stopped. Today that happy accident is The Quarry at Carrigan Farms — a 25-foot-deep, spring-fed swimming hole surrounded by towering granite cliffs, and one of the most unique outdoor activities in North Carolina.

The water stays around 79°F in summer. Lifeguards are on duty every day of open swim. You can float, swim laps across the quarry, jump from cliffs at several different heights, swing on the rope swing (you’ll need to do a pull-up and be at least 54 inches tall), play beach volleyball on the white sand court, or just stretch out on the grass with a farm-fresh pizza from the Quarry Kitchen.

Kids 12 and older can take a swim test to earn a wristband and swim freely. Everyone else wears a life jacket — we provide them in all sizes down to 30 pounds. The shallow-entry area is perfect for younger kids who want to wade and splash without the deep water.

Open swim runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, typically 10am–3pm daily with select evening sessions. Reservations are required and include a $5 food voucher for the Quarry Kitchen. The kitchen serves hand-tossed pizza, grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches, fresh salads, fruit cups, ice cream, and a selection of local beer and wine — all made with produce grown right here on the farm whenever possible.

Best for: Families with kids ages 3 and up, teenagers who live for the cliff jumps and rope swing, couples looking for a summer date that isn’t just another pool, groups of friends who want something more adventurous. It’s the kind of place where toddlers splash in the shallows while teenagers dare each other off the high jump and parents finally relax with a cold beer and a view they can’t believe is real.

Full details & reservations: Open Swim page

Pick Your Own Strawberries

Spring at Carrigan Farms means strawberry season. Starting in mid-April and running through mid-May (depending on the weather and the berries), you can walk the rows and pick your own — sun-warmed, perfectly ripe strawberries that taste nothing like what you’ll find at the grocery store. We’ve been growing strawberries here since the 1970s, and Doug Carrigan is a past president of the North American Strawberry Growers Association. This is what we do.

Strawberry picking is one of the best activities for families with toddlers and young kids. The rows are easy to walk, the berries are right at kid height, and there’s something magical about watching a two-year-old discover that food comes from the ground. It’s also a favorite with grandparents looking for a simple, outdoor activity to share with grandkids. Most visitors spend about an hour picking.

Best for: Families with young children, grandparent outings, anyone who wants the freshest strawberries they’ve ever tasted.

Season: Late April through mid-May. Check our website for current field conditions before you visit.

Full details: Strawberry Picking page

Apple Picking & Hayrides

September means apple season. Our orchard is planted with dwarf apple trees, specifically chosen so that even the youngest visitors can reach the fruit and pick their own. A tractor-drawn hayride takes you out to the orchard, and on the way back you can stop at the petting zoo. It’s a full morning or afternoon, not just a quick in-and-out.

Best for: Families with kids ages 2–10 especially love this one. The combination of the hayride, the picking, and the animals makes it feel like a real farm adventure — not just a transaction.

Season: September through early October. Reservations required.

Full details: Apple Picking page

Pumpkin Patch & Fall Hayrides

We grow over 20 acres of jack-o’-lantern pumpkins every fall. This isn’t a parking lot with pumpkins trucked in from somewhere else — you ride a hay wagon out to the actual field and pick your pumpkin right off the vine. Bring gardening gloves and a pocket knife if you want to make cutting the stem easier, though it’s not required.

Whether you’re looking for the biggest, roundest, most orange pumpkin you can find, or your kid falls in love with a small lopsided one, twenty acres means there’s a perfect pumpkin for everyone.

Best for: Families making fall traditions. This is the kind of outing people come back for year after year — many of our visitors started coming as kids and now bring their own children.

Season: October through Halloween. Reservations required.

Full details: Pumpkin Picking page

Scarrigan Farms Haunted Trail

When the sun goes down in October, Carrigan Farms becomes Scarrigan Farms. Our haunted trail winds through the farm after dark, and it’s not the kind of thing you forget. If you’re looking for Halloween events or haunted attractions near Charlotte, this is one of the area’s most popular.

Traverse over a mile of trails through the woods and hollows where you never know what lurks around the corner. Get your adrenalin rushing and enjoy spine tingling thrills and chills as you try and make it through the haunted trail. Whatever you do, don’t come alone!

Scarrigan Farms is an intense halloween experience, not for the faint of heart. Perfect for date night, groups and teams, the haunted trail is filled with intense scenes and horrific actors. Get prepared to be scared. No one under age twelve is admitted. Reservations recommended.

Located at The Quarry at Carrigan Farms, Scarrigan Farms Haunted Trail is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in October. Doors open at dusk and closing time varies by night. Fridays and Saturdays tend to be busy, whereas Thursdays and Sundays are more relaxed. For the best pricing, visit on a Thursday or Sunday, when prices are less.

Full details: Scarrigan Farms page

Fresh Asparagus & Seasonal Produce

Before strawberry season kicks off, spring at the farm starts with asparagus — fresh-cut and available at the farm market. Throughout the growing season we also offer lettuce, sweet corn, and a rotating selection of seasonal vegetables. While California grows more fresh produce than any other state in the country, we’re 3,000 miles fresher. You can taste the difference.

Season: Asparagus in early spring. Other produce varies through the growing season. Check our website or call ahead for current availability.

Weddings, Events & Private Parties

The Quarry at Carrigan Farms isn’t just for swimming. It’s also one of the most distinctive outdoor event venues in the Charlotte region. Towering granite cliffs, a waterfall feature, LED cliff lighting for evening events, and a farm-to-table kitchen that handles all the catering on site.

What sets us apart from most wedding and event venues: everything is all-inclusive. One venue fee covers the space, catering, bar service, and event coordination. No juggling five different vendors. No surprise add-ons. One price, one point of contact, one less thing to stress about.

We host:

Weddings & Receptions — Full-service, all-inclusive packages at The Quarry. Our venue is ideal for couples who want an outdoor wedding that feels completely different from a hotel ballroom or barn venue.
Elopements — Intimate ceremonies at the quarry without the big production.
Company Picnics — Get your team out of the office and into The Quarry. Swimming, volleyball, farm-fresh food, and an experience your people will actually remember.
Corporate Day Retreats — More structured than a picnic. Ideal for leadership offsites, team-building days, or rewarding your staff with something better than a conference room.
Proms & Formals — All-inclusive packages for school groups.
Christmas Parties — The quarry cliffs lit up for the holidays are something else entirely. Catered holiday parties for corporate groups and private celebrations.
Field Trips — Hands-on farm education for school groups, homeschool co-ops, and youth organizations. Hayrides, farm tours, and seasonal u-pick activities

Getting Here

Carrigan Farms is located at 1261 Oak Ridge Farm Highway, Mooresville, NC 28115 — just five miles from Interstate 77. We’re an easy drive from across the region:

Charlotte: 35 minutes
Huntersville / Cornelius / Davidson: 15–20 minutes
Concord / Kannapolis: 30 minutes
Statesville: 20 minutes
Hickory: 45 minutes
Winston-Salem: 1 hour
Greensboro / High Point: 1.25 hours
Raleigh / Durham: 2.25 hours

⚠ Open swim guests should enter at the Carrigan Farms West Entrance. GPS address: 1213 Oak Ridge Farm Hwy, Mooresville, NC 28115.

If you’re coming from out of town, the Mooresville and Lake Norman area has plenty of restaurants, hotels, and things to do nearby. Visit Mooresville has a great guide for planning an overnight trip around your quarry visit.

What’s Happening & When

There’s always a reason to visit. Here’s what each season looks like at Carrigan Farms:

Spring (April–May): Fresh asparagus at the farm market. Pick-your-own strawberries starting in mid April. The farm comes alive after winter and it’s one of the prettiest times to visit.

Summer (Memorial Day–Labor Day): Open swim at The Quarry every day, plus select evenings. The Quarry Kitchen is open with farm-fresh food, beer, and wine. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekends.

Early Fall (September–early October): Apple picking season. Hayrides to the orchard, dwarf trees for easy picking, petting zoo, and the start of pumpkin season.

October: Pumpkin picking in our 20+ acre patch. Scarrigan Farms haunted trail on weekend evenings. This is our busiest and most exciting month.

November–March: The farm is quieter, but The Quarry is available for private events, Christmas parties, and wedding bookings. Planning your spring or summer visit? Book early — especially for weddings and open swim weekends.

A Farm with Deep Roots

The Carrigan family settled in the Mooresville area in the 1750s. Since 1902, five generations have farmed this same piece of land — starting with tobacco and cotton, then a dairy operation, and since 1975 the fruit and vegetable farm you see today. Doug Carrigan, a horticulture graduate from NC State and past president of the North American Strawberry Growers Association, runs the growing operation. Whether it’s strawberries or sweet corn or apples, quality is the point.

We’re not a theme park or a resort. We’re a real, working family farm that happens to sit on one of the most beautiful pieces of land in the Charlotte area — and we’ve spent the last four decades finding ways to share it with you. Come see what over a century of farming looks like.

Questions? Call us at (704) 664-1450 or email support@carriganfarms.com